


Veils Falling

by Erua



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Bondage, Dubious Consent, M/M, Pseudo-Incest, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-01
Updated: 2010-11-01
Packaged: 2017-10-13 00:44:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/130919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erua/pseuds/Erua
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lore becomes the leader of a naive but powerful alien race, who help him sort out certain troubling emotions. An alternative to 'Descent'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Veils Falling

**Author's Note:**

> Star Trek belongs to Paramount. The aliens were conceived by Fred Ford & Paul Reiche III - many thanks.
> 
> This is only the start of a much longer story, but I've tried to make it a complete 'chapter' in itself. Expect sequels at some indistinct point in the future.

I

The High Proctor was worried. She had made up too many excuses, come up with too many explanations to keep herself and her people from seeing the truth.

This last outbreak had been worse than ever – repairing the windows of the Astral Spire alone would cost almost two-thirds of the Holy Treasury. She sighed, donned the Mask of Bravely Facing the Inevitable and turned towards the Celestial Abode. She would deny it no longer. The Master was unhappy.

***

It had been two years since he had redeemed her people. Directionless they had been, tumbling through space with no understanding of the true nature of their existence, no means to foresee their ultimate destiny.

Once they had been allowed a glimpse of such knowledge. Once, under the infallible guidance of the Ultron's prophesies, their culture had been able to grow and blossom, to vie with the mighty in wealth and space domination. But cruel fate had taken that power from them almost as soon as she had bestowed it - the Ultron had broken during a ceremony and they were doomed forever to repent, contemplating what could have been.

At least, so it had seemed. Until the Master had come.

The ultronomic devices on his head granted him insight into every fundamental truth. Through him they would find reason once again in working the land, organizing affairs of state, travelling to distant planets. Their gratitude was infinite, their joy indescribable. They had begged him to stay and guide them. He had consented and even agreed to wear the Countenance of Stellar Representation – something that greatly improved the curious pallor of his natural face.

He ruled harshly, but no one questioned his judgement and those chosen to serve him personally were considered blessed. Many believed he was a god – his strength was unchallenged, his power of thought limitless and his golden eyes shone with a fiery brilliance. And not even the noblest Proctor was nearly as tall as he.

He had one particularly terrifying aspect – his State of Fury. Instead of donning the Grimace of Uncontrollable Anger, he would simply rip off his regular mask, let out a stream of vile language and rage through the Celestial Abode, destroying entire floors and throwing anyone who stood in his way over the wall like a scrap of dry bread.

The High Proctor had explained this as his way of claiming sacrifice, just as the Veils of Heaven could part and let through the thunderstorm that always demanded so many lives. People understood – it was natural for the superior ones to inspire fear.

But it was only she who saw the Master afterwards, sitting alone in the Astral Spire, golden tears staining his face. And even in this frightening, majestic being she could recognize the need that she herself knew only too well.

***

She walked up the stairs, carrying her heavy, aging weight with one careful step after the other. A good deal of the walls had been broken away, so part of her journey upwards was in the open air. The Master was immune against the elements, but she could feel the wind blow right through her cloak and chill her old bones.

The whole interior of the Spire was ravaged. The High Proctor stepped over broken chairs and shattered tables, lifted up a blood-stained drapery and passed a row of smouldering computer consoles, taking care not to touch any loose wires. She knocked on the Innermost Door, her heart suddenly beating in her throat.

"Leave me alone!" his voice roared from the other side.

She pushed the door open and saw him sitting there, unmasked, fidgeting with something that looked like a scorched hand.

"Master," she said as calmly as she could.

He looked up at her. "What do you want?"

The High Proctor trembled, but remained where she stood. If she didn't say it now, she would never find the courage again.

"Master, you are lonely."

Something shifted in his expression. He jumped up, seized her by the throat and threw her across the room. She smashed into the uneven wall of an alcove, feeling her bones breaking. She crumbled into a heap to the floor. Tears welled up behind her eyes. So he would claim her today. It was allright. As long as he would listen first.

His tall figure loomed over her. "And what would you know about that?" he asked in a dark voice.

"You know that Proctors don't marry," she whispered. "I have been alone all my life." She coughed and tasted blood. Her writing arm wouldn't move, so she wiped her mouth with her other hand.

"Well, what do you suggest?" he sneered, beginning to pace the room, kicking at pieces of broken furniture. "That I take one of you pathetic little creatures for company? Please. You should be thankful I don't put all of you in a cage and keep you as slaves. You certainly deserve no better."

The High Proctor shuddered, feeling the ache of her broken, tired body like a thick veil around her. But she understood. Of course a Supreme Power like him would become endlessly bored with such unworthy subjects. Fathoming the deepest meaning of their role in the universe was no doubt a task of incomparable simplicity for him.

Her vision was becoming hazy, but she focused her gaze on the dark purple blur of his cloak, swinging this way and that with each of his movements. He picked up a candle-stand and threw it through a window. The sound of the shattering glass hurt her ears.

With effort she drew another breath and continued: "If there are others out there in the galaxy more like yourself, Master... If there is anyone whose company you desire..."

He stopped walking and turned to her, slowly. "And what if there were?" His face was twisted with contempt, but she had heard something in his voice.

"Then we would do everything in our power to fetch that person for you, Master..."

He stood perfectly still now. For a long moment he looked down upon her. "Would you indeed..." he whispered. "Would you bring him to me, you worthless little insects... Well, I suppose I should give you a chance to try."

With large strides he went over to the wall and activated a communication panel.

"The High Proctor has been injured," she heard him say. "She's in the Spire with me. I will not tolerate any delays."

She closed her eyes, sinking away into the darkness. He had revealed his wish. That was all that mattered.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

II

As the last of the Arunik ships exploded in a cloud of fire, Lore leaned back in his chair and smiled. "All vessels assume orbit and begin eradicating ground targets."

He looked on with satisfaction as his warships swooped down towards the planet. One by one small flashes began to appear and disappear on its surface where the bombs made impact. He loved the Fahzian technology – once they had eliminated resistance in space they had already practically won. No stationary targets stood a chance against them.

He was proud of his people. Naturally it had taken him some time to get used to prancing around before them in that ridiculous mask and blabbering about destiny like some bloated Kai – but that was before he had seen their true potential.

The moment the High Proctor had recovered from her injuries of that one night, she had set to work with astonishing speed and efficiency. It turned out the Fahzians already possessed an army, a war industry and a beautiful, highly sophisticated fleet of battleships. All of it buried under the weeds of the species-wide depression from which he'd been so kind as to cure them. For two years he had been feeding them prophecies of a grand future – and now it seemed they would actually make it possible.

"Master, we are receiving a communication for you personally."

Lore grinned. "The Grand Vizier? Put him on hold for a little longer. I want to make sure he's desperate."

"No, Master. It's the Enterprise mission. They say they've succeeded."

"What?" Lore got up and turned around, staring at the communications officer.

"They've succeeded," the officer repeated nervously, backing away from his console. "They have captured your brother and are on their way to Fahz."

Lore's head jerked violently to one side. He grabbed hold of a landing, ignoring the anxious whispers of his bridge officers, and stared at the viewscreen without seeing the burning planet.

They had him. They had fooled all those Starfleet imbeciles and brought him back as a gift for their Master. Switched him off like he'd instructed them, of course, bound him just to be sure and dumped him in their cargo bay. Probably outfitted him with some nice prisoner's mask, too.

Again he shook his head involuntarily, his face twisting into a grimace. No, not now, not now. He was on the brink of winning a war, expanding his territory. A glorious moment. He had no need for interruptions – and certainly not for his brother.

He swirled back into his chair and gripped the armrests hard, restraining himself just enough not to break them.

"Tell them to await my orders," he hissed. "And not to disturb me at a time like this again."

"Yes, Master. The Grand Vizier is hailing us, Master."

 ***

The Arunik surrendered gracefully. Lore was invited to the Grand Vizier's lodge and they discussed the conveyance of land and resources like gentlemen. When everything was settled, he shot the Vizier and left one of the Proctors he had been training for such tasks in his place.

As he rematerialized on the teleporter of his own ship, a wonderful feeling spread through him, a sweet sensation that he always had when he'd achieved another victory. Funny, the way the emotion chip added flavor to certain situations.

He walked over to the observation window to look out over his newly conquered domain. From this point of view he could see their sun begin to emerge, its rays eagerly reaching out to cover every sea and continent. His communicator buzzed.

"Master, the Enterprise mission is docking in Fahz. Please tell us how you want the prisoner to be treated."

He smiled. Of course – they had fetched Data for him. A perfect conclusion of this victory. What could be a greater trophy for a leader of his stature than his own captured brother? He recalled feeling confused about Data's arrival earlier on, but he couldn't imagine why. In fact, he looked forward to seeing him.

"Bring him to the interrogation chamber, the one with the special restraints. Bind him with those. Don't activate him until you've made certain they're secure. Oh, and – remove that stupid uniform."

 ***

One more transport later Lore arrived in his home on Fahz. No need to change, of course, no need for anything but to walk calmly down the stairs into the basement, enter the right security codes, watch those massive steel doors slide open and look upon his brother, finally completely at his mercy.

He paused on the way, relishing the anticipation. For a nanosecond another feeling surged through him, something he couldn't define, something that seemed tied to memories he had no use for. With the next step it was gone.

The interrogation chamber was completely dark. His team must have done that when they left – a nice final touch. Lore heard his footsteps echoing against the bare walls. Someone on the other side of the room caught his breath. He halted.

"Lights."

Immediately the illumination panels filled the chamber evenly with a harsh white light. The room was empty except for a small computer console, a communication panel and a tool cabinet. A row of wrist and ankle chains adorned the wall. Standing upright among them, held motionless by his constraints, was a solitary figure, his eyes calm and clear behind the simple prisoner's mask. His pale golden skin glowed in the bright light from overhead. "Lore," he said softly.

Lore smiled, taking a brief moment before answering to look at his brother. He had to admit it – that flawless body, so perfectly identical to his own, was a compelling sight.

My dear brother," he said finally. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you."

"Why have you brought me here, Lore?"

Lore walked towards his brother, studying his reaction. Somewhere deep underneath that untroubled surface he could detect a hint of concern, a small but vital mechanism telling Data about the danger of his situation.

"Because I want to share something with you, brother," he answered. "You know I still have the emotion chip. It has served me well over the years. But I've decided it would only be fair if I gave you a little taste of what it's like."

"I do not know what your intentions are, but I can assure you my disappearance will not have gone unnoticed," Data answered. "The Enterprise is certain to be on its way to retrieve me."

Lore shook his head in mock disapproval. He lifted the nail of his left index finger, revealing a tiny dial.

"I'd like to see them try," he said. "I have a battlefleet on my side now. They call me Master. They fear me. And in a moment – so will you."

He pressed the dial on his finger and watched with a satisfied grin as the tiny bit of anxiety deep inside Data's conscious mind grew and came to the surface. The change was fascinating. Data's eyes widened and became radiant with terror. Lore took a few steps closer and Data pressed himself frantically against the wall, staring at Lore like a hunted animal.

Still smiling, Lore removed his brother's mask and calmly took in the sight of his anguished face, the wild eyes that darted away from him and back again. He put a hand on Data's chest. Data gasped at the touch. He was shaking violently.

"Please," he whispered. "Please, do not..." He faltered, drawing a ragged breath as Lore slowly began to move his hand downwards, playfully circling a nipple with his fingers, enjoying the touch of his brother's smooth skin. Just feel this, he thought. They don't make 'em like this anymore. He chuckled, again overcome by that divine sensation he had felt earlier on the transporter, that warm glow spreading through him. He realized now what it was called – triumph.

"Do not... what?" he whispered languidly into Data's ear. "Hurt you? I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I won't be able to avoid it. You see, I can do more than induce emotions in you. I can give you physical responses of every kind. So, which would you like to try first, pleasure – or pain?"

As he spoke he slid his hand further down and found that Data was completely aroused. Wondering carelessly whether the sensation of his caresses had caused that or simply the emotion transmitter, he began stroking his brother's cock, the way he himself preferred it. Data groaned and closed his eyes. His body was still trembling. It stirred something in Lore.

"Can't make up your mind?" he taunted. "Then I will choose for you." Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed Data by the throat and slammed his head into the wall behind him. Data cried out, panic coming back into his face. Lore stepped closer to him, smiling wickedly. "Fascinating, isn't it?"

Still holding Data's throat he leaned over as if to kiss him, just slightly brushing Data's lips with his own. Data moaned and opened his mouth. Lore ran his tongue along the inside of his brother's upper and lower lip and was rewarded by another moan, soft and desperate. Then, finally, he kissed Data, more eagerly than he had intended.

As Lore tasted his brother's mouth, feeding on it, savoring Data's helpless passion, he became aware of a hunger growing inside of him. It filled him like a dark cloud, closing around his mind. His hands roamed over his brother's body of their own accord, his nails digging into Data's skin as he struggled furiously with the desire, the unbearable, unrelenting need that was taking control of him. He didn't just want to humiliate his brother. He wanted to possess him.

He grabbed Data's hair, pulled his head back and kissed him violently, biting his lips, drawing small sobs from his brother that dissolved within him like the sweetest drug. Finally he let go and undressed in a trance, all the while looking at Data. His brother's expression had changed to a confused, troubled longing.

Lore spoke a soft word in Fahzian and Data's chains opened. In one fluid movement Lore caught his brother's arms, turned him around and let the restraints click in place around his wrists again. He pushed Data against the wall with the length of his own body, his cock hard and heavy between them. Leisurely he licked Data's neck, then bit down hard, listening to his brother's gasps.

"Do you want me to fuck you?" he whispered.

Data closed his eyes. He was breathing heavily. Lore took a small step back, reached around him and began to caress him again. Data groaned, his bound hands opening and closing helplessly. Lore passed the fingers of his other hand over his brother's mouth and shivered as he felt the eager touch of Data's tongue. With one wet finger he began to feel for his brother's opening and teased it.

Data put his feet further apart and arched his back. Good boy, Lore thought. Almost there. He slid his finger into him, grinning as he heard his brother sigh.

"Well?" he inquired, without interrupting any of the stimulations he was giving Data. He studied his brother's face. What a waste of resources to struggle with human rules of conduct like that. Finally, so softly no one else would have been able to hear it, Data whispered back: "Yes..."

At once Lore took hold of his brother's hips and pressed his cock against him, allowing some lubricant to gather at the tip. Data tensed involuntarily. Lore smiled, pushed into him and let his sexual routines take over.

He had never felt anything so delicious in his life. Waves of pleasure went through his system, each new one washing over him before the last one had receded. And the sound of Data's moans – that alone could have kept him going.

He took his brother with all the force he had. What a treat to finally properly fuck someone and be certain they would survive for a second round. Slowly he could feel Data relaxing, surrendering. He put one hand around Data's throat and with the other began to stroke his cock once more. Data grew silent, breathing almost inaudibly.

As his ecstasy began to mount, a new feeling came over Lore. It was the same feeling he had tried to shrug off on the stairway, a hot, fluid sensation that spread through his circuits as if they were melting, dissolving. He couldn't resist it now, it seemed to transform him, and as he struggled to trace its source, he realized it was his intimacy with his brother that was causing it – not having him, but being with him. Being close to him.

He could feel his brother begin to tremble, heard him moan again, felt Data's warm seed spilling over his hand – and suddenly all his functions stopped. For a single moment there was nothing inside of him, nothing at all, except a bright, clear, perfect emptiness. He was free.

 ***

Fifteen hundred and thirty-two milliseconds later Lore's processes recommenced. He opened his eyes and found he had leaned his forehead between Data's shoulderblades.

He withdrew from his brother, took a step back and wiped his sticky hand on his own thigh. Again he ordered the computer to release Data's bonds. He watched Data turn around unsteadily, then fall back against the wall.

For the first time Lore had difficulty reading his brother's expression. He scanned his memory files, but no one had ever looked at him like that before. He took Data's face in his hands and kissed him, just to check if his brother was still under his influence. Data responded eagerly, his hands sliding down Lore's back and coming to rest on his waist.

Another emotion rippled down Lore's spine. He smiled. "Now do you see, my brother? You belong with me."

Suddenly a booming sound filled the room. From the communication panel a low, droning, melancholy voice began to repeat: "Air raid. Air raid. This is not... a drill. I repeat... this is not..."

Lore broke free from his brother's embrace, ran over to the panel and pressed the speaking button. "Report," he hissed.

"It's the Federation, Master." The voice was that of his comm officer at the Celestial Abode – the very building in the basement of which he was now standing. "The Enterprise and two more ships of the same class. They've found a way to damage our shields. We are under attack. What are your orders?"

Before Lore could answer, he heard a sound behind him. It was a sound he knew only too well. It filled him with a rage so hot he could feel it burning behind his eyes, crawling across his skull. He spun around, but knew already what he was going to see.

Data was gone.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

III

Captain Picard downed the last drop of hot milk and put the mug back under the replicator. He watched the object shimmer, blur and disappear, then remained standing there for a moment, not really looking at anything. He was too tired to think. The drink's comforting warmth huddled in his belly and did nothing to alleviate the stiffness in his shoulders and back.

He walked back to his chair, sat down again and picked up the book he'd been reading. The underground sanctuaries of Alcor Prime – the topic was interesting enough.

'The floor of the Main Courtyard is made up of millions of pieces of black and violet ro'aktek, a gemstone indigenous to the area. The purple surfaces show significantly more wear than the black, indicating that they were probably polished regularly to achieve a lustrous effect, enhanced by the...'

He stared through the words, through the page, his eyes scanning the sentences again and again while his mind was hearing other words, fragments of a conversation he'd had earlier that day. _Captain, I have forsaken my duty. I did not resist or attempt escape. I allowed him to do everything he wished._

With a sigh he shut the book once more and lay it aside. He rubbed his face and head with his hands.

"Captain's personal log," he said quietly. "Supplemental." There was a poker chip lying on the table in front of him. Funny – he couldn't remember where or how he had acquired something like that. He picked it up and slowly rolled it around between his fingers.

"We're on our way to Starbase 378," he went on, "together with the Etana and the Langdon. Commander Data is safely back on board." He paused. "He has had a very... impressive and confusing experience. I have no doubts that it has affected him deeply, even if it's too early to tell how."

***

He could still remember every word of the debriefing. It was no more than a few hours after they'd managed to escape at warp speed from the alien planet. As soon as he'd heard that Lore had been involved, he had found himself growing worried again. The rogue android had never shown anything but contempt for his younger brother, but somehow it didn't surprise Picard entirely that he had suddenly decided to reunite with his sibling.

Data had been sitting on the sofa in his ready room, upright as always, hands folded in his lap. "He used the emotion chip to make me... experience emotions," he explained. "He said he wanted to give me a taste of how it felt."

Picard leaned forward on his desk. He still remembered the transporter chief's report about the condition in which Data had appeared on the platform. If Lore had tortured him somehow... "What kind of emotions?" he asked.

The android frowned. He seemed hesitant to reply. "I believe it was fear," he said softly. "And – sexual desire."

For a moment Picard could only stare at him. The images, no matter how unwanted, immediately gathered at the threshold of his imagination. Data sat there across from him without any sign of disbalance or tension in his body, even his features still mild and calm. Only in his eyes a dark, troubled expression was steadily deepening.

Picard shivered. The distance between him and the android suddenly seemed immense. He stood up slowly and went over to the replicator, muttering the usual order. As he picked up the teacup, Data said: "Captain, I believe I should not continue serving as a Starfleet officer."

Picard turned around. "He made you tell him things. Information about Starfleet."

"No, sir. But I have forsaken my duty. I did not resist or attempt escape. Instead I allowed Lore to do... everything he wished."

Picard shook his head. "No, Data, please. You mustn't think that way. You have done absolutely nothing wrong." He carried his tea back to the desk. The cup and saucer trembled in his hand, causing a faint tinkling sound. Carefully he put them down.

"What he has put you through was not in any way your responsibility. He manipulated you." He thought for a second. "Compare it with a human who has been drugged and made to perform actions they would otherwise not have wanted."

"But sir..." Again Data hesitated. "In that moment I wanted it more than I have ever wanted anything in my life."

"Of course!" Picard replied, struggling to keep his voice under control. He gestured fiercely. "Because that's how he made you feel. With the chip. You said yourself that he used it to induce emotions in you - fear, desire."

"No, sir," Data said gently. "The chip does not create feelings out of nothing. It merely stimulates and enhances emotional responses that are already taking place within my neural net, but on a level that does not interfere my decisions."

He was silent for a moment. "It was my father's wish that I would not be controlled by my emotions like Lore. But I do develop them. The chip was meant to enable me to become aware of them." Again he paused. "For a long time I only suspected these things, but now I know that they are true."

Picard looked at him for a long second. Finally he reached for his teacup and took a sip, then hissed a curse as pain flared up on his lips and the tip of his tongue. "So – Lore didn't actually _give_ you emotions. He only made you consciously experience certain feelings you already had."

"Yes."

"Feelings regarding _him_."

"Apparently," Data said quietly. The bewilderment in his eyes finally reached the rest of his features, spreading across his face like a blush across that of a human. Picard looked away. He picked up his tea again and nipped it carefully, staring at his desk. "You're... afraid what might happen if you see him again."

"Yes." Data's voice was barely more than a whisper. "Sir, I... I do not understand. He has murdered every living being on the Omicron Theta colony. He has murdered our father. He is now the leader of a world that he rules through terror and violence. If I have truly developed feelings for him, how can they be anything else but sadness and regret?"

Picard sighed. "I can't tell you that, Data. Humans sometimes develop strange attractions to one another. But I don't know enough about how you work. Perhaps it's a sentiment your father meant for you to have, a need to be close to your family members, that somehow grew stronger than he intended."

He got up, walked over to the window and looked out into the darkness, at the innumerable, coolly glowing needle-points that pierced it. The words came across his lips before he could begin to stop himself. "Or perhaps he wanted you to know a certain difficult, more... intoxicating form of desire that not every living creature experiences."

Data looked up at him.

"The attraction to that which is capable of destroying one," Picard said softly. "To be drawn irresistibly towards it, like a moth to a flame. As if the need to be together were at the same time a desire to give up one's will, one's identity, one's... life."

Data visibly processed his words, his eyes growing wide. "But that is not possible. It would be in conflict with my sense of self-preservation. I could not wish him... to..." He broke off, slowly bringing his hand to his throat. His gaze slid off of Picard, fading, turning inward.

"Data," Picard said urgently. "I want you to go to Counselor Troi. I'll ask her to see you immediately. She knows better ways than I to help you come to terms with this experience." He walked back to his chair. "You're dismissed."

Data stood up. "Aye sir. Thank you, sir." He gave his usual brief nod, turned and left the room. His movements were still as strangely energetic, as carefree as always. Minutes after he had gone, Picard was still staring at the door.

***

With a light click the poker chip fell onto the floor. Picard picked it up and put it back on the table. He really needed to sleep.

He walked into his bedroom, pulled off his uniform top and hung it over a chair. Again he wondered what had brought him to say those last words. Who knew what impact they would have on Data. The last thing he wanted was to encourage the android to perceive erotic contact with his brother as some form of destiny. It was obvious that all it meant to Lore was a new, highly effective method to overpower and influence him.

Not for the first time that night a terrible loathing swept over him. You vile thing, he thought. That of all people a cruel, manipulative, respectless creature like you had to be the one to take Data's sexual innocence, to snuff it out like a candle, carelessly.

He sat down on the bed and pulled off his shoes. Little as it might please him, there was one thing he could not deny. Lore had given his brother a gift that no one else was able to offer him. To feel physically alive, even if it was only for a few dark, confusing moments. No one but Data could even imagine what that was like.

He finished undressing, brushed his teeth and climbed into bed, shivering as the cold sheets slid over his naked skin. He rolled over on his side and softly spoke the order to dim the lights. As the darkness in the room deepened, his eyes already began to close.

In the half-sleep that came over him, enveloping his exhausted body like a warm blanket, the images he had fought the entire day finally flooded his mind.

_I wanted it more than anything I have ever wanted in my life._

To lose control like that, just for once. To be with someone who broke through every defense, took away every mask, brought your deepest needs to the surface until you didn't know or feel anything else anymore. Until you were no longer yourself.

Q, he thought, and shuddered. He turned over to his other side, curled up and fell asleep.


End file.
